Nebraska State FFA 2024

Ryggin Meyer and Isaac Murphy

April 11, 2024

The Alliance FFA went to compete at the Nebraska FFA State Convention 2024 from April 3 to the 5. We had a total of 25 members going this year.
Addison Belford from the Alliance FFA Chapter was interviewed first. She competed in two contests, Agriscience and ENR (Environmental and Natural Resources). What was first asked was what was her favorite thing about state FFA, she responded, “My favorite thing about State FFA was the memories I made with friends! Sure we competed but we also had fun along the way!” Another question that I asked Addison was if she felt she improved since districts, she answered, “I have improved, especially in Agriscience. At districts, I didn’t ribbon but I got a blue ribbon at state! When it comes to ENR, I felt I could still improve but it is only my first year!” Addison loved State and she told me that she looks forward to next year.
Jace Lien of the Chadron FFA Chapter was interviewed second. Jace competed in three contests: Ag Biotechnology, Farm & Agribusiness Management, and Welding, two of which he placed top ten individually. When asked what he enjoys most about State FFA Jace responded, “Going on stage! I don’t mean to sound arrogant but I have been on stage all three years. It’s pretty exciting to me.” Jace was very adamant about the amount of preparation he had put into his contests by stating, “I think we got at least top three in FBM.” This proved to be true with Chadron earning first place and the right to represent Nebraska at the National FFA Convention. Huge congratulations to Chadron!
Bayleigh Lacy from the Minatare FFA Chapter was the next interview. Bayleigh only did one contest at state this year, which was the Vet Science CDE. Bayleigh was asked what her favorite part of the state was, Bayleigh told me, “Honestly, my favorite part was my chapter trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo. I haven’t been to the zoo since I went with my Godmother a few years ago. I bought my mom and dad stuffed animals to give them as gifts when I get back!” The other question I asked Bayleigh was if she felt she improved since districts, she said, “If I am being honest, no. I did terribly. Yeah, it is only my second year but I got all this information I didn’t know and seriously messed up my practicum. The good news is I have three more years!” Bayleigh is excited to see what her FFA career brings her and how she can grow.
Reese Smith from the Wheeler Central FFA Chapter was the next person I interviewed. Reese is a first-year FFA member and competed in two contests: Agriscience, and Poultry Evaluation.when asked what he was enjoying about the state convention, “I really like how nice all of the people at the campus are. I want to attend UNL (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and seeing how nice everyone is makes me want to even more.” I also talked to Reese about how he felt he did at competitions, “I think I did okay, I have never done Poultry Evaluation before. I was thrown in as an alternate.” Even with this challenge Reese did well and had a good time!
My next interview was with Trey Stewart, the 2024-2025 Nebraska FFA State Vice President. Trey is a senior from the Wisner-Pilger FFA Chapter and will be happily serving Nebraska FFA this following year. My first question for Trey was what it means to him to be able to serve Nebraska FFA, “It means so much to me! I can’t wait to meet all of the members and hopefully be as good as the past officers!” Trey also told me that this is just the beginning of his FFA journey and that he hopes he can serve the state well!
I also was able to interview Thomas Perrin, the 2023-2024 Nebraska FFA State President. I asked him was how was his year as state president, he told me, “It was very exciting and an amazing experience that I could have never imagined. This year’s officer team was all amazing individuals and I can’t wait to stay in touch with them all.” The next question I asked Thomas was if he was trying out for the National FFA Officer position, he said, “No, not this year at least. I want my sophomore year of college to be fairly calm. I might try my junior year.” The final question that I asked was if he was excited about the new officers, Thomas responded, “Yes I am. I am glad we have so many individuals willing to keep on with the Nebraska State FFA Legacy! I feel like this year’s individuals are such a strong group and that they will help keep Nebraska FFA together.” Thomas is sad to leave Nebraska State FFA behind but he is excited for the future!
My final interview was with Ms. Pohl, an Alliance FFA advisor and Ag teacher. My first question for Ms. Pohl was how she felt the chapter’s results indicate the effort they put in, “I feel like the results are pretty indicative of how much effort we put in! We all did well and had fun which is what matters most.” Ms. Pohl also told me that she is super happy with what people learned at the State Convention and that it was more than just competitions.
Overall, The Alliance FFA had a very successful trip. Huge congratulations to all of the teams that competed! Now it’s on to banquet planning, officer interviews, and the Ag fair!

Results:

Ag Biotechnology – 2nd Place (Purple Ribbon)
Kaylee Henthorn – 10th Blue Ribbon
Isaac Murphy – 20th Blue Ribbon
Mandie Ylander – Red Ribbon
Makenna Quick – White Ribbon

Ag Sales – 4th Place (Blue Ribbon)
Makenna Quick – 6th Purple Ribbon
Kaylee Henthorn – Blue Ribbon
Carson Swenson – Red Ribbon
Jackson Bailey

Story continues below advertisement

Agriscience – 8th Place (Purple Ribbon)
Ryley Norris – 5th Purple Ribbon
Kaci Messersmith – 13th Purple Ribbon
Addison Belford – Blue Ribbon
Addison Wittman – Red Ribbon

Environmental & Natural Resources
Brooklyn Burri – White Ribbon
Ryggin Meyer
Addison Belford
Addison Wittman

Farm & Agribusiness Management – Red Ribbon
Jackson Bailey – Blue Ribbon
Makenna Quick – Blue Ribbon
Rozlyn Wills – Red Ribbon
Shyla Salcido

Floriculture – White Ribbon
Macy Brooks – Blue Ribbon
Kayel Lambert – Red Ribbon
Mandie Ylander
Madison Christen

Food Science & Technology
Ashley Carr – Red Ribbon
Sutten Parkinson – White Ribbon
Kail Fickel
Hadley Shrewsbury

Livestock Evaluation: Senior Division – State Champions (Purple Ribbon)
Seth Meyring – 2nd Place Purple Ribbon
Josie Sanders – 13th Place Purple Ribbon
Rozlyn Wills – Red Ribbon
Shyla Salcido – White Ribbon

Livestock Management – Red Ribbon
Seth Meyring
Josie Sanders
Sutten Parkinson
Rozlyn Wills
Ryggin Meyer

Meats Evaluation & Technology – 4th Place (Purple Ribbon)
Josie Sanders – 1st Place Purple Ribbon
Seth Meyring – 4th Place Purple Ribbon
Shyla Salcido – 20th Place Purple Ribbon
Kayel Lambert – Blue Ribbon

Poultry Evaluation
Brooklyn Burri – White Ribbon
Autumn Henthorn
Isaac Murphy
Bailey Denison

Creed Speaking
Autumn Henthorn – Silver Medal

Employment Skills
Kaylee Henthorn – Gold Medal
Macy Brooks – Bronze Medal

Extemporaneous Speaking
Seth Meyring – Gold Medal

Proficiency Applications
Seth Meyring: Beef Placement – State Runner-Up
Ashley Carr: Outdoor Recreation – State Runner-Up
Josie Sanders: Sales and Services – State Champion

All Results: https://nebraskacde.unl.edu/results/2024

About the Contributors

Ryggin Meyer, Staff writer

Ryggin Meyer is a 15 year old sophomore who attends Alliance High school. She was born in Alliance, Nebraska at Box Butte General Hospital on July 16, 2008. Ryggin has lived in many other towns such as Rapid City, South Dakota and Rushville, Nebraska. The reason she ended up moving was because of her mom. Ryggin is currently in her second year of FFA, last year she did competitions such as CCM (Conduct of Chapter’s Meeting) and Vet Science. She made it to state in CCM and her team got bronze on the state level. A main hobby of Ryggin’s is showing dairy goats, she owns 21 dairy goats! All of her dairy goats are Lanchais, Sable Saanens, and Saanens, this is her first year showing goats by herself. Before Ryggin started showing goats by herself, she’d help her cousin, Bayleigh, showing goats. She has also shown horses, last show she went to Ryggin got Reserve Youth Ranch Champion on a horse named Sugar ‘N Grace. That horse was her aunt Sheri’s but personally she owns 2 horses, Mist who is two years old named Mist, and an eleven year old named Shorty. Ryggin is also in dance, this being her 13th year! She currently does tap, jazz, pointe, and lyrical. Ryggin loves dance and it has always been a true passion of hers since she was young, she can’t wait to see what this dance year brings! When Ryggin isn’t at school, she is helping out on the ranch or playing Roblox. Things that she does on the ranch is train her horses, work with cows, work with her dairy goats, or just lend a helpful hand. Some of the games that Ryggin likes to play epic mini games on roblox. When she finishes high school, she is hoping to go to the University of Wyoming for pre-vet and then Vet school in Colorado. She wants to study in Colorado because it is one of the nations best vet schools. The reason she wants to go to the University of Wyoming is because it has beautiful scenery. Once she graduates vet school, she is hoping to work in Riverton, Wyoming at Stock Dock Veterinary Clinic. Ryggin is wanting to move to Riverton, Wyoming in hopes of making more money. Ryggin is an all A student and hopes to continue this throughout high school. She hopes to improve her writing skills and thinks The SPUD will help with this. Ryggin can not wait to write for The SPUD this school year!

Isaac Murphy, Staff Writer

Isaac Murphy is a 15-year-old sophomore at Alliance High School. He moved here from Saint Cloud, Florida last December and absolutely loved our cooler weather here in Alliance, Nebraska. The reason he moved is because his uncle Kevin made the rest of his family move here. Isaac was born February 14, 2008 at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital in Kissimmee, Florida to Kelly Murphy. Isaac had been through seven houses thanks to his mom getting married a lot, these houses ranged from Kissimmee, Florida to Saint Cloud, Florida. Isaac says that he has three main hobbies/interests, his favorite is playing video games. His two favorite being Rainbow Six Siege and Valaront, he says one of the few reasons he likes them so much is because they are shooter games and he has found out he performs well in them. Another interest Isaac has is Formula One racing! He has liked Formula One since he was about 10, loving the high intensity and watching as people compete in cars designed for such things. Formula One is when ten teams design a car under certain regulations, these regulations are known as the Formula One. When Isaac is older, he is hoping to go to Monaco because of F1 (Formula One) and the fact he finds it a really beautiful country. He also loves cooking with a strong passion, one of Isaac’s favorite things to make is grilled cheese, he likes to make this because it’s one of the easier foods to make. Isaac is also a big time sports fan and he really likes the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic is a basketball team that is based out of Orlando, Florida, they are sponsored by Disney. An interesting fact about Isaac is that he only has one kidney, which is his right. The reason Isaac is missing his kidney is because he has a rare disease called Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney disease, which is where one of your kidneys does not fully develop. Isaac has four pets, two cats and two dogs. His dogs are named Pippen and Norman, these two breeds are jack russell mix and a boxer mix. Isaac’s cats are named Bean and Enzo, which his older brother named. He is an excellent student and has gotten all A’s up to his freshman year. Once Isaac graduates high school, he is hoping to go to the University of Wyoming for a degree in criminal justice. The reason Isaac for this is because he has an uncle in the Air Force that he wants to be like. Life here has been a lot different than Florida for him and he wouldn’t change a thing that has happened here. He can not wait to improve his writing ability by working for the SPUD. He is excited to be writing for The SPUD this school year!